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The firm of D'Agostino Izzo Quirk Architects (D'AIQ), based in Somerville, Massachusetts, has taken a prominent role in addressing brownfield conditions at Historic Pontiac Mills, in Warwick, Rhode Island. The 350,000-square-foot site along the Pawtuxet River was home to the original Fruit of the Loom textile mill, dating back to the mid-1800s. Production stopped in the 1970s.
In 1986, a landfill east of the property was designated by EPA as a potential hazardous-waste site; a tiny portion of this landfill extended onto the Pontiac Mills site. In addition, fuel oil, arsenic, beryllium, and lead were found in other locations. The property owners at the time wanted to sell, but no lender would touch such a site unless it also received brownfield designation.
In 1996, D'AIQ began helping a developer interested in the property. Neither had prior experience with brownfields. "But we had experience with other types of consultants," says project...